One of the mysteries of Stonehenge is how some of its stones were brought from Pembrokeshire in Wales to Wiltshire. Photograph: I Capture Photography/Alamy For almost a century archaeologists have been braving the wind and rain on an exposed Welsh hillside in an attempt to solve one of the key mysteries of Stonehenge.

But new research about to be published suggests that over the decades they may have been chipping away at the wrong rocky outcrop on the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire.

The work in the hills is a crucial element in the understanding of Stonehenge because it is generally accepted that the bluestones that form part of the ancient Wiltshire monument came from this remote spot in south-west Wales. One of the many huge puzzles remains how the bluestone from Wales travelled 190 miles to the heart of south-west England.

Since the 1920s much of the work in Preseli has focused on a spot known as Carn Meini. Now researchers are claiming that in fact the Stonehenge bluestones actually came from Carn Goedog  almost a mile away.

Richard Bevins, keeper of geology at the National Museum of Wales and one of those involved in the study, suggested he was not going to be terribly popular with some fellow experts.

Stonehenge and the Ice Age How much do we know about Stonehenge? Less than we think. And what has Stonehenge got to do with the Ice Age? More than we might think. This blog is mostly devoted to the problems of where the Stonehenge bluestones came from, and how they got from their source areas to the monument. Now and then I will muse on related Stonehenge topics which have an Ice Age dimension...

This is a major development, with two senior geologists presenting their evidence in print. The article is in the new edition of British Archaeology, dated 9th October. Needless to say, I feel very chuffed, and don't feel quite as lonely as I did yesterday!

Rob Ixer and Richard Bevins have studied thousands of rock specimens from recent excavations at Stonehenge. They conclude that many bluestones came not from Pembrokeshire, but from a far wider area, perhaps north Wales (Snowdonia, the Llyn Peninsula and Anglesey), or even beyond. The well-known spotted dolerite is a Preseli rock, they say  but the likely source was not Carnmenyn (where archaeologists have recently claimed to have found quarries) but nearby Carngoedog.

The photo above is of Carngoedog -- identified quite a long time ago as the most likely source of the majority of the spotted dolerites, but of course studiously ignored by Profs Darvill and Wainwright and most of the other key archaeologists working in the UK.

Stonehenge and the Ice Age
How much do we know about Stonehenge? Less than we think. And what has Stonehenge got to do with the Ice Age? More than we might think. This blog is mostly devoted to the problems of where the Stonehenge bluestones came from, and how they got from their source areas to the monument. Now and then I will muse on related Stonehenge topics which have an Ice Age dimension...

...MPP cut trenches clear across the Avenue with strange results  theres evidence of grooves in the chalk, running all the way to the bend, and parallel ridges down the sides. It all looks artificial, but apparently its all natural periglacial action.

If the climate had been cold enough, that might work, but alas, it wasn’t. There’s been a fairly steady drumbeat by a few that all the stones got to the site by glacial movements, IOW, they were just strewn around the general area, then 10000 years later someone came by and thought, how neat, let’s shape them just so and pile them up. :’)

Just me being Daft, that road was used by me on a monthly basis, now the trip is two miles longer.
English Heitage have done a great job with the reorganisation of the site.
Access is now from a mile further north at a new visitor center.
Will be going down for a look-see in the next week or so, would you like a review?

46
posted on 11/29/2013 6:59:31 AM PST
by moose07
(the truth will out ,one day. This is not the post you are looking for ....move along now....)

It has been over 50 years since I was there. It was August of 1963. I expect that a lot has changed, everything except the stones themselves. There was no visitor center, no fence or gate, just a small road. The area around the stones was mowed and well cared for but there was no one there except the 3 of us. It was quite an experience and one I will never forget.

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